South Valley Teams played in various southern and central California tournaments over Labor Day weekend. SVSC G99s, coached by Lorne Howlett were Champions at the Odyssey South Soccer Fest in Visalia, winning all four of their matches! SVSC G98s, coached by Dominic Othart, were finalists in the Chelesa Kickoff Classic in Fulerton. And SVSC G93s, coached by Jason Carter, were finalists at the Simi Valley Ecplise tournament. These are great results and are a nice reward for a summer of dedicated training!

Congratulations to the South Valley G98 Othart girls’ team for a great showing this weekend in the top-flight of the OC Kick-off Classic. After going 3-0 in pool play, our girls battled to a 0-0 tie against Beach FC in the championship match, losing by one kick from the mark in tie-breakers. Great job girls!

Mackensie Taylor, a mid-fielder for SVSC G93, has committed to play soccer for Masters College in Valencia, CA. Masters ended the 2010/11 season ranked #6 in the nation, with a 17-3-2 record. Masters, an NAIA program, began recruiting Mackensie as a sophomore, and she will be receiving an athletic scholarship. Mackensie will graduate from Liberty High School in June of 2012, and compete against her current SVSC team-mate, Kaitlin Swift who will be attending Westmont, during the 2012 fall collegiate season. Congratulations Mackensie!

Molly McNally, a member of the South Valley G93 squad, has committed to play college soccer for Metro State (Denver, CO, Div 2). Metro has a long history as a top-level NCAA Division 2 program, making numerous NCAA tournament appearances over the years including a recent national title. Molly will finish her senior year at Bakersfield High School, graduating in the spring of 2012. Congradulations, Molly!

South Valley SC hosted its summer College ID Camp on Thursday, July 28. College coaches from CSU Bakersfield (Div 1), UC Riverside (Div 1), Metro State (Denver, CO, Div 2), and CSU Dominguez Hills (Div 2) ran the camp sessions. The camp was attended by thirty-eight high-school-age competitive female soccer players from South Valley SC and three additional Bakersfield-area youth soccer clubs.

Jason Carter, SVSC President and DOC, organized this year’s event which he plans to do again next year. When asked for his thoughts on the topic, Jason said, “This is what South Valley is about . . . we’re training student-athletes, and we’re working hard to get our players prepared to play in college. The other part of the equation is getting them scouted by college coaches. Our teams are very competitive and are accepted into well-attended college showcase tournaments. Hosting our own College ID Camp is another method we will continue to use to get our players the recruiting exposure they deserve!”

A big thanks to all the coaches and players who made this a successful event!